Ridderus, Franciscus (ca. 1618-1683)

Franciscus Ridderus, (François) (ca. 1618-83), was a Dutch Reformed minister, who served at Schermerhorn, Brielle, and Rotterdam. He is known for his religious poems and devotional books; his Bloed spiegel der Religie, which deals with Christian martyrs (no Mennonites), went through several editions. Besides these he published Doop, Avondmaal en Discipline van de tijden Christi af vervolgens tot den jaare 1672 (Amsterdam, 1672). Though he defended infant baptism and rejected Mennonite doctrines, Ridderus is one of the few Reformed authors who did not repeat the calumny that the Mennonites are descended from the Münsterites. In Doop (p. 698) he gave Menno Simons and the Mennonites this favorable testimonial: "When Menno Simons came to rebaptism, the Münsterite revolt broke out, but Menno showed clearly that he detested this wicked rebellion and he vigorously attacked it. The Doopsgezinden (Mennonites) in Holland too have always been quiet, honest, and peaceful people. During and after the Münster rebellion there were violent revolts by those who called themselves Wederdopers (Anabaptists), but these men came from abroad, and one should take care not to blacken all the Mennonites."